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Show i ; . , I I ; i - i T I ' 1 1 i i i s. i v r -- vv - ' i i '. i sI - i i ;a i i k- i ': . r - SECTIOItf SATURDAY. APRIL 10. iii miii illa it J L jv i f , T I i ,i i I I" I ll . Ai i w I i-- . . v . i ii m .1 i .. Mb. a i i k ji 2004 -r UTE ft STYLE EDfTOM Etyssa Andms 344-255- 3 eatidaiseheraldextra.com Gospels onfy briefly tett of Jesus' oddilor ifflecnon last hours 9 Donna Gehrkc-Whrt- Provo Pentecostal congregation brings DaVinci's 'The Last Supper9 to life for Easter e KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS ? This week. Christians around the world began commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus: his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, his last supper with the disciples on Holy Thursday and his crucifixion on Good Friday. f WhHe Mel Gibson in "The Passion of the Christ" told the story of Jesus' last 12 hours with Cody Clark THE OAH.Y HERALD M -- ' ' ? '. 'ore than 500 years : ago, Leonardo da Vind created one of the most enduring : ' . works of Christian: - art when he painted "The Last Supper," the mural that, to this ' clay, graces the north wall of the - ref ectory of a former Draninkair in Milan, Italy. monastery " ' , On Sunday morning, 13 men ', will dress in costume at Provo's . ': . Rock Canyon Assembly of God worship center and recreate the ' scene envisioned by the famed , Renaissance artist. - ' In composing his masterwork, da Vind strove to capture the tur-- . i moil of the moment when, as ' recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ told his most loyal followers, The hand of him that A betrayeth me is on the table. Fol-- lowing what has become a widespread Easter tradition, Christian congregations throughout the na tails and dialogue that even his supporters agree are not in the "New Testament the four Gospels themselves are remarkably brief in their recounting. No other historical document from the time describes the events, but scholars say knowledge About the time and place helps put the story told in the Gospels in context. "The gospels are really kind of circumspect," says Erik Larson, a Florida International University associate professor who specializes in early Christianity and Judaism. "The movie is much more graphic than the gospels." What is knpwn is that Jesus was living in a tumultuous time as a Jew under the rule of the Romans. ' To keep control, the Romans practiced "total oppression," says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, vice president of the New York-Base- d CLAL, National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. "They were all mean-spiri- t ed mea" By the time Jesus was a teenager, the Romans already had brutally put down two Jewish rebellions, both of them within about 100 miles of Jesus' home in Nazareth. Perhaps hundreds of Jewish rebels were nailed to crosses in the first revolt that occurred in the city of Sepphoris, which was about four miles from Nazareth, says internationally known Jesus scholar Marcus Borg, who has written 12 books and is a professor of religion at Oregon State . , 5 . " Jesus) after the program. Last Supper are just one of a wide variety of Easter observances among Christian ' denominators The week precedWhan; Sunday, 9 and 11 ing Easter Sunday is Holy Week for Catholics, who attend special : , a.m. ; ,, . masses and vigils. Parishioners at ; Rock Where: Canyon Provo's St. Mary's Episcopal Assembly of God, 3410 N. Church have a special Last SupProvo . Canyon Road, per observance on Maundy AdmlMlon! Free and open Thursday, the Thursday precedto the public ing Easter Sunday. In Mesa, Ariz., local members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints put on an annual Easttion use actors to model da Vino's er pageant, now in its 66th year. Rock Canyon, a Pentecostal depiction of those present for that dramatic disclosure. congregation, has previously of the Last Many staged "The Living Last Supper," but it is not an annual undertakSupper include communion, or sacrament, an observance Christ ing. Dean Jackson, pastor of the instituted during that meal At worship center since 1991, said Rock Canyon, three or four acthat periodically depicting Jesus' Last Supper with his disdples is a tors mingle with those in attendance to offer communion (grape unique alternative to more con-Se- e juice and a special unleavened LAST SUPPER, B6 waferj for the blood and body of Tha living Last Supper - . b Jesus had a radical side that ultimately got him into trouble with the Roman authorities: He challenged the status quo, talking about justice for the oppressed, says the Rev. Dr. Jones, pastor of St. John's On the Lake First United Methodist Church in Miami Beach, Fla., who holds two religious doctorates. "In short, the Kingdom of God was about God's justice against tne injustice 01 ine uonunaru systems of his day," Borg says. ' Indeed, in his triumphant ride into Jerusalem just days before he was put to death what Christians celebrate as Palm Jesus was greeted Sunday with "shouts of popular acclaim," as the descendant of the Jewish King David, says Gerard S. Sloyan, a professor emeritus at Temple University who is the author of several books, including "The Crucifixionof Jesus: History, Myth, Faith" and "Why An-net- te J4 1 -- t RAY See CRUCIFIXION, 86 Y 1 MEESEDaily Herald Couple suing IRS to win deduction for religious school tuition Gillian Flaccus THE ASSOCIATED 1'!1bL; PRESS A federal tax case quietly working its way toward trial could have financial implications for many families, as an Orthodox Jewish couple sues the Internal Revenue Service to try and win a deduction for their children's religious education. In their lawsuit, Michael and 'Maria Sklar of Los Angeles con- -' tend the IRS erred by disallowing their tax deduction claim ts when the agency permits to write off the cost of spiritual counseling and instruc- tion.on that religion's tenets. . "You have a particular sect that's being favored by the state based on religion," said Michael Sklar, an acootmtant. The case "will have enormous ramif ica- Sden-totogis- 't; ;.': 'v!.': : ' WC HUI5Asociated Press Midiad Sklar, along whh hb Wife, Maria, were barred by the nternal Revenue Service from writing off tuition tor their children's private religious school The Orthodox Jewish couple : mgue the decision violated the First Amendment.' v - 7 I J tions whatever the ruling is. I didnt do this for the $3,000 that's at stake." The Sklars hope the legal action in US. Tax Court wSl clarify whether millions of Americans who send their children to private religious schools can deduct part or an of those costs. But legal experts said it could raise even more difficult questions about separation of church and state. "If the Sklars prevail, they may have created a bigger problem than they've solved," said Steve Johnson, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "What the US. Supreme Court has repeatedly said is that one of the things we're trying to avoid is excessive entanglement of the government in religion." The case has gone largely un ( noticed most parents probably don't know about it, said Ron Reynolds, executive director of the California Association of Private School Organizations in Van Nuys. "It's not as if there's a ground . swell of support around this case," said Reynolds, whose organization represents about 1,700 private schools statewide. "But the law obviously has to be applied fairly, and if there is one group that is receiving spedal benefits, that's something to look at." The root of the suit is a 1993 decision by Congress that allowed taxpayers to more easily write off charitable donations that resulted in "intangible religious benefits. Examples of such contributions could include Jewish temple dues or tickets to religious events. Under an agreement with the IRS that year, members of the Church of Sdentology were allowed to dedud contributions that led to spiritual counseling sessions and dodri-na- l courses. The pradices, called "auditing" and "training," are a crudal part of Sdentologists' spiritual advancement, said Linda Simmons Hight, a church spokeswoman. She said they are as "intangible religious counter to benefits" because the Sklars' claim they constitute spiritual guidance rather than education. The Sklars first sued the IRS in 1997 after the agency disallowed their dedudions for one-on-o- See LAWSUIT, B6 ' |